ACCOUNTANTS have accused the Inland Revenue of causing unnecessary worry for thousands of taxpayers by sending out letters containing veiled warnings that they could face investigation.

The Revenue is mailing the "enabling letters" to around 100,000 self-employed people with a business turnover of less than é15,000.

The letters warn: "We have identified an aspect of the Self Employment pages of your return which may need particular attention.

"We want to help you get this aspect right first time, which may avoid the need for an enquiry."

The Inland Revenue's letter tells recipients that if their tax return is wrong, any additional tax will be recovered, with interest and a penalty where appropriate. It recommends people to seek advice if they are uncertain about what to declare as income or claim as an expense.

Peter Goodman, head of tax at Wilkins Kennedy, a leading accountancy firm, said receiving one of the letters might cause unnecessary worry for taxpayers. "Many people may assume they are about to be investigated," he said. He also criticised the vague terms in which the letters were couched. "It's like saying to taxpayers `there may be something wrong with your tax return, but we are not going to tell you what it is," said Goodman.

"The vast majority of taxpayers who receive one of these letters will have filed their tax return correctly and paid the right amount of tax.

"This approach is unlikely to endear the Revenue to those taxpayers and may hinder good relations in the future."

The Inland Revenue says it's aware, from the results of enquiries, that there are some common errors made by many people. Sometimes people claimed for expenses to which they were not entitled.

"By offering advice on these issues in the letters, we hope to help them to complete future returns accurately and with confidence," said a spokesman. But Peter Goodman says: "Although the objective of the letter might be to improve the overall level of compliance, the Revenue's approach could be criticised for being heavy-handed."